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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · firm · mine · rest · rush · pound · hand · band

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. hand — help
  6. band — a ring
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. firm — a company
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. firm — steady
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. band — a music group
  19. firm — decided
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com